The Twelve Stars

Chapter 15

I'm not sure how deep underground we went. I was just relieved when the journey ended and ice stone doors cracked open before us. We had to take a moment to catch our breaths. Thad was the first to recover. He placed his right hand on the stone door and leaned in to get a visual of the realm of the Dead.

"If I'm right," he said. "Robyn has still yet to be judged which means she will be walking with the Dead to her trial."

"Valhalla or Hel," Finn concluded.

"But she died in battle," I argued. "There is no need for a trial. She should already be in Valhalla-"

"Be thankful that she isn't," Thad replied. "For then there would be no chance in resurrecting her. Unless you decide to appeal to Baldur himself." He brought one leg over the threshold, and looked up, his composure reluctant but confident. "Come," he said. "We're running out of time." He took leave. Any doubt on the dangers that Helheim excelled at diminished on Thad's uninvited arrival. In trepidation, we followed.

The fear was stronger in person. Its icy landscape removed any hope of the depressing darkness of Helheim that I had witnessed in my dream. Just beyond the snow embankment, a frozen lake bordered the distant stone, black castle that I knew was Hel's.

"The River Gjoll is just beyond this frozen lake," Thad explained. "We walk across this and the bridge will be on the other side."

He slid down the small ramp and landed on the frozen lake. For a moment, I worried that the ice wouldn't be able to hold all three of us. Constant snow fell around us. I bought my coat tightly around myself. Finn did the same. A few steps in, we found ourselves falling behind. Thad walked ahead relentlessly. We were half way through when a presence bumped against the underside of the frozen lake, almost knocking us off our feet.

"What was that?" I asked. Thad appeared not to have noticed it.

"With acknowledgment to the detriment of our current situation, let's hope that it was just natural tremors," Finn said. I found myself hoping the same. Against my better judgement, I put it off until the thud came again, heavier this round.

Thad stopped this time and turned. His green eyes moving across the icy surface we stood on. I looked at him, unaware of the dangers that lurked in this realm. "Thad, what is it?" I asked.

"If that is what I think it is," he started. A gulp of fear escaped him as he brought his gaze to mine. "Run," he said.

I didn't need to be told twice. The fear in him alone proved enough to unfreeze my feet. A third thud roused Finn's survival instincts. "That's not natural," Finn said.

Fear had strucken all of us. We began to move before the ocean dweller could knock us off our feet. We ran across the lake of ice, not daring to look back. Just the sound of ice breaking behind us fastened our pace. The shoreline came into view.

"ALMOST THERE!" Thad called.

I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder. Through the floor of ice, I spotted a flicker of translucent light moving through the still water. Each time it came closer, its sharp tips of light scraped against the surface, weakening its density to hold us. I realised it was scales that cut through the ice like paper and leaving a crevice in its wake. Terrified, I pushed on. I leaped onto dry land before it could crash through the surface, Thad already there and Finn next to me.

There was a loud roar. Then a beast unfathomable in size rose up from the water, its large scaly head looming high over us. We were toothpicks compared with its colossal serpentine body. Its roar of fury echoed across the realm. The floor shook. I brought out Robyn's sword in defense, prepared to fight it if I had to. With no intention to strike, it brought its monstrous snakelike head down to us, and for some reason, it looked directly at me. I took a nervous step back, but did not once drop my guard. It regarded me with its giant green eye which stood as tall as me in length. For a moment, there was only silence. Not even Finn or Thad could bring themselves to say anything. Then a deep voice spoke in my mind.